Going To Extremes

IRA WINDERMAN ON THE NBA

On the top end of the spectrum, the Lakers and Nets appear to be establishing the bar for their respective conferences.

On the bottom end, the Nuggets and Cavaliers seem to be setting the pace.

For the Lakers, Nets, Kings, Hornets and others who aspire to greatness, the ultimate prize is temporary ownership of the Larry O'Brien Trophy, a nice piece of hardware, but one that comes with only a 12-month lease.

For the Nuggets, Cavaliers and others committed this season to abject futility, the prized target is prep star LeBron James, who will come at the top of next year's draft with a five-year rent-to-own contract.

So while the Lakers dream of 70 wins, the Nets of 60, the question with teams such as the Cavaliers and Nuggets is how low they can go to get arguably the best player to enter the NBA in years.

With James playing his final prep season just down the road in Akron, the issue already has been raised in Cleveland.

"We'll have the players play hard," Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund insisted. "I'm not saying we're going to win a ton of games. We have a lot of raw talent. We may have a shot at it, but we're not deliberately going out to get him."

Gund said talk from the uninformed that the Cavaliers plan to tank for the top lottery seed is ludicrous.

"If they know what the lottery means, the best you can do if you tank it completely is a 25 percent shot," he said of securing the No. 1 selection in the random-but-weighted drawing in May. "I wouldn't tank it, anyway. For a 25 percent chance, even if we were inclined to do that, it wouldn't make any sense."

That's not to say the Cavaliers think much of their chances.

"We're predicted to be bad. But I'm saying we're better than bad," coach John Lucas boasted.

Told second-round pick Carlos Boozer thinks the Cavaliers could be a contender this year, Lucas replied, "That's why he has a big `R' after his name."

In Denver, former Heat assistant Jeff Bzdelik is not setting the bar all that high in his first job as a head coach.

Asked if his Nuggets could challenge the NBA's all-time worst record, Bzdelik said, "I think we're going to be a little bit better than what people are predicting us to be."

So forget 9-73, now as far as 10-72 ...

"We're a very young basketball team," Bzdelik said. "Our goal is just to improve on a daily basis and to build a foundation of professionalism.

"I think wins and losses will slowly start making a turn for the better as the season progresses. It's going to be a slow process. I'm not unrealistic."

THAT TIME OF YEAR

Watching so many newcomers on the court can be uncomfortable for fans during the preseason. Magic coach Doc Rivers also believes that is the case for veteran players. "I really don't like putting starters on the floor with guys whose names I don't know," Rivers said. "It's a hell of a dilemma. You've got to play guys, but you're just so afraid somebody's going to get hurt." ...

Dealing with youth, especially common this time of year, certainly presents its challenges. "The thing about young guys is they're either extremely high or extremely low," Pacers coach Isiah Thomas said. "They can win two games in a row and feel they own the NBA and they can lose two games in a row and feel like they are the worst team in the NBA. It's important to keep their mental state of mind at an even keel." ...

Among the reasons Milwaukee nearly took the full 15 days to match Dallas' four-year, $12 million offer sheet for guard Michael Redd was a bid by the Bucks to dump other salaries to avoid the luxury tax. "The problem for a trade is it's a slow period in the league," coach George Karl said. "Every team thinks they're good. Every team thinks they're a playoff team." (Except, of course, the Cavaliers and Nuggets.) ...

So why did Mavericks coach Don Nelson miss an exhibition with back pain last week? His story: jumping out of his chair after hearing his cat in pain. Cat and coach are said to be doing fine.

WANG WHO?

Mavericks players hardly were forlorn to see the organization elect not to match the Clippers' offer sheet for center Wang Zhi Zhi. "It's no big thing," Dallas guard Michael Finley said. "It would be good to have him, but we're not going to miss him. We'll find the two or three points from somewhere else." ...

Former Florida International standout Raja Bell, unable to stick with the 76ers after two seasons, appears to have found a home in Dallas, aided by the Bucks' decision to match the Mavericks' offer sheet for Redd. "If we did not have Raja Bell, we would lack depth at that position, and it would probably be enough of a concern that we would have to go out there and look for someone," Nelson said. "But with Raja in the fold, I think it made Redd more of a luxury than anything else." ...